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Grampian Girls Gear Up For Blockbuster Event

Rubislaw playing fields are set to be buzzing tomorrow night as nearly 300 youngsters converge on the Aberdeen Grammar club for a mixed development event.

A record number of girls – around 80 – are set to attend from eight different schools in the region, with participants coming from as far afield as Forres to Mearns. Senior Scotland women’s players will be coming along to share their skills before the under-15 and under-18 girls play a round of games to put their learning into practice.

Mark Cowie, new Girls’ Rugby Development Co-ordinator in Grampian, said: “The tournament had been arranged for the S1/2 boys so we decided to put the time and facilities to use by getting the girls along, too.”

Girls asking to play has had a large part in new groups starting up at a number of schools in the region and the trend of secondary-age girls not participating in sport has been bucked by girls rugby, the sevens version of the game being one of the most rapidly growing sports at the moment.

Mark, who formerly coached the Garioch women’s team and is a recent sports coaching graduate took up his post last month. He says: “As soon as I got started, I had a list of girls training on their own and schools who wanted to get involved, so this event will be great and give us a very strong start to next season.”

Grampian-based Scotland Women’s winger, Lauren Harris, who regularly trains with the Aberdeen Grammar men, will be at the event, along with Scotland under-20 Women’s player, Sophie Hayes, to pass on some top tips to the girls.

She says: “I think it’s great that there’s such interest in the event from the girls here and good for them to have this opportunity. Rugby has given me so much over the years – there’s a fantastic team spirit and the pride in representing your country – that I hope more girls are inspired to take it up through events like this.”

The development event takes place at Rubislaw Playing Fields, Harlaw Road, Aberdeen from 4pm to 6pm on Thursday 29 March. For further details contact Mark Cowie at [email protected] or Scottish Rugby’s Regional Development Manager, Pete Young, at [email protected]